About Us

Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D.

President Emeritus

Theodora Capaldo, EdD, is a Massachusetts-licensed psychologist. She has taught psychology at the college level, served as director of counseling at a liberal arts college, and has maintained a private psychotherapy practice for over 30 years.

Dr. Capaldo is President Emeritus of the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, its educational affiliate, the Ethical Science Education Coalition (ESEC), and spearheaded NEAVS’ national campaign Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories. She is also trustee of the American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research (AFAAR – founded by Dr. Ethel Thurston in 1977), which fosters the development and validation of alternatives to animals in research, testing, and education.

Dr. Capaldo has worked extensively with individuals who suffered psychological trauma. Her sensitivity to animals brought to her practice an awareness of the consequences of children/adolescents being forced to participate in inhumane animal use in education; an understanding of the development of morality and compassion; and a recognition of the psychological suffering and toll that traumatic experiences take on humans and all animals.

Dr. Capaldo has presented at both national and international conferences, has co-authored several papers in peer-reviewed journals, has been the subject of various media outlets, and has provided expert assistance to documentaries, articles, and books on animal research. Dr. Capaldo has been an active member of NEAVS since 6th grade. She summarizes her motivation and her quest to make things right:

“I often think, it’s good that I care but it is even better that I am willing to work hard for who and what I care about.”